Thousands of Chinese Christians in China recently were required to sign an official document (like a template) issued by the government. The document was a forced personal declaration or statement. In the first part of the form, Christians must declare their name, gender, address, number of identification card, the year in which they began to believe in Jesus Christ, the reason why they believed in Jesus, and the place where they participated in services worshiping Jesus occasionally and/or regularly.
The second part of the document is horrendous; it is a “pledge of allegiance” of sorts that requires three parties to sign, namely, the person who is a Christian, a family member, and the local secretary of the Communist Party. In addition to the signatures, fingerprints are required, and a video recording is taken during the signing process. The pledge is translated as follows:
“I originally did not know much about Christianity, and I blindly chose to believe in Jesus. My belief in Jesus is just an act of following others uncritically. Now, after I was reeducated (by the government), I have developed a better understanding of religion and become more aware of my spiritual need. Therefore, I formally declare that from today on I will not participate in any religious activities related to Christianity and I do not believe in Jesus any longer.”
This forced declaration is more than enough evidence of the despicable crime committed by the Chinese Communist Party; a crime against the basic right of citizens -Christians in this case- to worship freely, without fear of repression Crimes against human dignity, against humanity, unlike war crimes, can be committed during peacetime, and are part of a government’s policy. To be forced to denounce Jesus is terrible for Christians; it is an iniquity. Isaiah 59:2 says, “your iniquities have separated between you and your God.” When we, Christians, choose to believe in God, our spiritual need is to live in our Father’s kingdom. When we, Christians, are baptized, we declare that Jesus is our King of kings, Lord of lords. To deny Jesus is akin to stabbing a Christian’s heart. “No one who denies the Son has the Father” (1 John 2:23).
I plead with you to pray with me for my Christian brothers and sisters in China. Their sufferings have been depicted in the Bible. “… this is the last hour… the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18).
Today, Evil runs China, but it will not last because “…In the world you will have tribulation; but … I have overcome the world!”